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<title>A Veritable Checklist of Flaws from Late Night Infomercials by Avocados-in-Love (Zorro_sci)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25931734">A Veritable Checklist of Flaws from Late Night Infomercials</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zorro_sci/pseuds/Avocados-in-Love'>Avocados-in-Love (Zorro_sci)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>daredevil - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adoring Matt, Canon Typical Violence, Established Relationship, M/M, Protective Matt, body image issues</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:08:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,678</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25931734</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zorro_sci/pseuds/Avocados-in-Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt’s hot, Foggy thinks he’s not, and all of Foggy’s most carefully created plans can’t stop Matt from wanting to touch his boyfriend already!</p><p>In which, people are mean, Foggy is insecure, and Matt wages a war against that insecurity.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Matt Murdock/Franklin "Foggy" Nelson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>118</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Veritable Checklist of Flaws from Late Night Infomercials</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Foggy gathered his courage before opening the apartment door.  Tonight was the night.  He needed to face the music, but he wasn’t ready.  He had hoped he could put this off for longer, or even some wildly hopeful part of him had maybe even thought he could put it off forever, if he just kept things interesting enough that Matt never realized . . . .but to no avail.</p><p>He couldn’t really deny Matt.  Not after Matt had gone along with all of Foggy’s ideas so wholeheartedly.  Especially not after the shy and nervous way Matt had asked.  No, he needed to do this, but a not insignificant part of him was convinced that Matt was going to regret his request.  Maybe even to the point of leaving Foggy.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div><i>See, the problem started the day after Matt and Foggy shared their first kiss.  A dinner together had caused one thing to lead to another, which led to mutual confessions of attraction and feelings, followed by an amazing kiss.  Foggy had practically floated home afterward.</i><p>
  <i>The problem was, as he stepped out of the shower the next morning, he saw his reflection.  That in and of itself wasn’t unusual.  Given the location of the mirror, he tended to see himself as he wrapped up in his towel.  That morning however, he stopped and really studied himself.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Matt was so handsome.  He had attractive features, he was lean yet well-muscled, and he was nicely proportioned.  Daredevil plus his exhibitionist tendencies ensured that Foggy knew that.  In contrast, Foggy was soft, lumpy, and asymmetrical.  He had stretch marks and a veritable checklist of the things late-night infomercials tried to convince you that you should rid yourself of with their ‘all new’ diet and/or exercise products.  In short, Matt was hot, and Foggy was not.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>The relationship between Matt and Foggy was in its fledgling stages, but Foggy knew it would escalate to things more physical than kissing, and possibly quite quickly.  Which would mean Matt running his super-sensitive, enhanced-touch-enabled hands all over Foggy’s subpar body and learning just how unattractive his new boyfriend was.  Which, would either lead to an awkward break up, or even more likely, to Matt guiltily faking attraction to Foggy.  He quite possibly might be repulsed by him, but he probably would never say anything because he wouldn’t want to create waves or hurt Foggy’s feelings. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Foggy couldn’t let that happen, so he needed to create a plan.</i>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div>“Foggy?” Matt asked as he opened the door in front of Foggy. “What are you doing standing in the hall?  Did you forget your key?”<p>“No, I just . . .” Foggy trailed off, unsure of what to say.</p><p>“Is everything okay?”</p><p>Worry lined Matt’s handsome face, and his voice was soft and concerned.  Foggy knew he couldn’t just brush off the question, but he also needed to choose his words carefully so he didn’t set off Matt’s lie detector senses.</p><p>“It’s a been a long day.”</p><p>Good.  The words were vague enough, and true enough, that he was pretty sure he had succeeded in his mission.</p><p>“I’m sorry.  Anything I can do?”</p><p>Foggy wanted to say ‘no’.  He really did.  He wanted to say ‘no’ and reassure Matt, but he was afraid it would read like a lie.</p><p>It would read like a lie, because while Foggy would never ask Matt to back down from asking for what he wanted, (especially when it was so hard to get him to do that in the first place!), Foggy secretly wanted Matt to go back on his request.  It would make Foggy feel better, but it wouldn’t be fair.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div><i>Hands, mouth, hair, and dick.  Those were all places Matt could safely touch.  They were some of Foggy’s better features, and he knew how to work all of them to his advantage.  Everything else though . . . .better to keep Matt’s super mitts off of it.</i><p>
  <i>At first, it was easy.  When they made out, he redirected Matt’s hands to his hair and acted like he really liked having it pulled, (which wasn’t exactly <b>untrue</b>).  Then the first time it looked like things were going to go further, he just dropped to his knees, and made damn sure that Matt barely remembered his own name by the time he was done.  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>After some of Foggy’s best work, it was all too easy to convince Matt to just give Foggy a quick hand job in return, while he was completely sex-drunk and barely able to move.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Score one for Foggy’s amazing sex powers, and good planning!</i>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div>Oh wait!  He knew what he could say!<p>“I’d rather just forget about it.”</p><p>It was true, even if it evaded the question.</p><p>“If you’re sure,” Matt responded hesitantly.</p><p>“I am,” Foggy confirmed, before he abruptly changed the subject. “Did you make pork chops?  Matty, do they have . . .”</p><p>“The maple glaze that you love?  Yep.  Only the best for you, Fog.”</p><p>Matt smacked a quick kiss against Foggy’s lips before returning to the kitchen.</p><p>“You’re amazing.”</p><p>“I said I wanted to take things slow tonight.  What better way to start than with some wooing?”</p><p>“Oh, I’m definitely wooed, Murdock.”</p><p>“Just by the pork chops?  Because there’s baby red potatoes with dill and bacon green beans too,” Matt remarked as he prepared two plates.</p><p>“I love you.  You’re the best,” Foggy enthused.</p><p>“The way to a man’s heart really <i>must</i> be through his stomach,”  Matt commented lightly as he brought the plates to the table.  “I haven’t heard you gush like this for a while.”</p><p>“Patently untrue.  I gush all the time!  I’m known for my effusiveness!” Foggy objected dramatically, with a hand thrown over his heart.</p><p>“Sure, sure.  Hey, Mr. Effusive, come to the table before your dinner gets cold.”</p><p>Foggy quickly complied, and joined his partner at the table.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div><i>”Stay?” Matt asked, soft and vulnerable, from where he was catching his breath on the couch while Foggy sat next to it on the floor, holding his hand.</i><p>
  <i>So far, they’d never made it past the couch.  Whenever their kisses got heated and started to have intent behind them, Foggy dropped to his knees and left Matt overwhelmed and pliable.  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>He’d blown Matt in his living room half a dozen times, a couple times in the entryway after hastily closing the door, once in the kitchen, and even once in their office after Karen had left for the night.  Never, not once, had he let things move into the bedroom, because once they got near a bed, it would be far too easy for additional options to become available.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>It wasn’t that Foggy didn’t have a plan for what they could do once Matt wasn’t sated with blow jobs alone, but he was hoping to delay the transition as long as he could.  However, he realized with growing panic, that even though he had planned for the sex that might come with a bed, he hadn’t created a plan for bed-sharing.  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Cuddling could be just as problematic as sex.  Yes they’d hugged, but they were always wearing clothes, and the hugs were over pretty quickly.  They’d clung to each other too, but they were always drunk when they did it, and alcohol messed with Matt’s senses.  This would be different.  If they shared a bed, Matt would have all night to touch Foggy.  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>What if Matt wanted to be the big spoon?  He would have Foggy in his arms, and be able to run his hands over him as much as he liked.  Really any position where Matt held Foggy would allow his hands to wander.  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Foggy supposed he could insist on being the big spoon, but even then, how much could Matt glean from having Foggy’s body pressed against his?  Especially if they stayed that way for hours.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Foggy?”  Matt prodded gently.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Shit!  Foggy had been quiet too long.  This was starting to look suspicious.  His heart was going pretty fast too, but maybe Matt thought he was still recovering from their sexual activity?  Probably, but if his heart rate kept going up, Matt was going to worry, and now that he was thinking about it, the muscle rebelled and took off like a runaway train in his chest.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Shit!</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Are you okay?” Matt asked.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>His head was cocked, his eyebrows furrowed, and the look of concern on his face paired with his mussed hair made him look ridiculously soft.  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I wasn’t expecting this,” Foggy said honestly.  “I don’t have anything to sleep in, or a toothbrush, or anything  . . .”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“You don’t have to stay. . .” Matt started to backtrack, his face starting to shutter up to hide his disappointment, (but Foggy saw it anyway, and it broke his heart).</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I want to!” he broke in quickly, (and honestly, that was the truth; anything to stop Matt from looking like a kicked puppy).  “I just might need to borrow some things.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“That’s not a problem,” Matt replied with a grin. “I like the idea of you in my clothes. . . .not that the idea of you being naked in my bed isn’t appealing in its own way.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Foggy choked on air, and Matt smirked and leered as best as he could.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <b>Yeah, sure.  I’m sure you’d LOVE it if my fatass were naked in your bed.  Just like I’m sure your clothes will fit me.  No reason to doubt either of those things . . .</b>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I wasn’t sure what you would want,” Matt said, holding out a pair of sweatpants, an old, worn t-shirt that Foggy thought had been stolen when he did his laundry back at Columbia, and a Columbia hoodie that had also been Foggy’s once upon a time.  (He must have sneaked into the bedroom and grabbed the clothes while Foggy was feeling sorry for himself.)</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“So when you said ‘your clothes’, you meant MY clothes,” Foggy said teasingly.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“The sweatpants were never yours, and as far as the t-shirt and hoodie go, I stole them from you fair and square in law school, so I’ve had them long enough that I think that makes them mine now.  Three years or more means a change of possession, right?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Whatever.  Hand them over, you clothes thief.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Foggy grabbed them and headed into the bathroom.  This could work.  The sweatpants were really snug, the waistband cutting into his middle, but the t-shirt and hoodie more than covered that part, and by layering the clothing, he would hopefully obscure Matt’s ability to feel the exact form of Foggy’s body underneath the layers.  Especially with something as thick as the hoodie.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Quite frankly, it was probably too warm to wear the hoodie, especially with the t-shirt underneath it, and even more so since he was planning to share the bed with another warm body, but he wasn’t going to go without it.  He’d rather wake up in a pool of his own sweat, or roast himself to death, than take the chance of Matt feeling out his exact dimensions.  There would be no skin to skin contact anywhere his clothes covered.  He would make sure of it.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>When he finished in the bathroom, he found Matt sitting on his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants.  His toned chest and carved abs were on full display, an enjoyable sight to be sure, but also a reminder about how imperative it was that Foggy kept his own flabby stomach and soft chest covered and out of reach.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>His boyfriend laid back in the bed, and before he could shift much and pick a position, Foggy wrapped his arms around his torso and placed his head on the middle of Matt’s chest, effectively trapping the other man on his back.  Meanwhile, Foggy laid on his side next to him, angling his body slightly away from Matt’s side.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Arms wrapped around Foggy’s back, pulling him slightly closer, and Foggy tensed a little, but the hold loosened slightly, and he relaxed and started to settle back in.  Matt’s heart kept steady time under his ear, and he found himself drifting, lulled to sleep by the rhythm.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He thought he heard the echoes of the words “I love you, Foggy” through the chest beneath him, and he might have felt a soft kiss on his forehead, but he was too close to unconsciousness to be sure.</i>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div>The food was perfect.  Seasoned to perfection, cooked expertly, and basically a prime example of what enhanced smell and taste could do in the kitchen.<p>“Matt, this is amazing,” Foggy all but moaned, for the third or fourth time since he had started eating.</p><p>The blind man chuckled.</p><p>“Thanks, Fog.”</p><p>The blonde took another bite, and this time a small appreciative moan did escape.</p><p>“Okay, maybe you are known for your effusiveness,” Matt conceded.  “Although I think I might have hurt feelings if I don’t get a better response than the pork chop later tonight.”</p><p>Right.  Later that night.  Foggy’s heart galloped with nerves at the reminder.</p><p>Matt cocked his head, and listened, his eyes going soft and concerned.  </p><p>Guilt curled in Foggy’s gut.  </p><p><i>Please let him think it’s arousal.  Please let him think it’s arousal,</i> he begged in vain within his mind.</p><p>There was no way that Matt was interpreting Foggy’s increased heart rate as arousal.  His body language was worried and slightly defeated.  He knew.  At least partially.</p><p>“Foggy, do you not want to do this?”</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div><i>Sharing a bed became a more and more regular part of Matt and Foggy’s life together.  They even moved in together and made it a nightly thing.  However, Foggy always wore a hoodie or a thick sweatshirt, and if they cuddled, Foggy always laid his head on Matt’s chest, arms twined around Matt’s torso, with his body subtly angled away from Matt’s.</i><p>
  <i>Matt asked a couple of times about Foggy’s insistence on being in that position, but a couple of comments from Foggy about how it was reassuring to hear that Matt was alive after all the scrapes he’d been in as Daredevil, or how Foggy wanted the chance to spy on Matt’s heartbeat for a change, stopped any further inquiry, (and were true, even if they weren’t the only reasons).</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Sex evolved for them, ending Foggy’s campaign of overwhelming Matt with blow jobs, but even as they moved forward, he creatively found ways to keep Matt’s hands almost exclusively on Foggy’s hair, mouth, hands and dick.  The other man had yet to touch his back, chest or stomach while it was bare, and he counted that as win.  That is, until the day Matt called him on it.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Okay, maybe Matt didn’t exactly call him on it.  He still didn’t seem to know that Foggy was intentionally avoiding having Matt touch him, but he did call out that he hadn’t touched Foggy.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Foggy, I want to say that I’ve really enjoyed everything we’ve done sexually so far.  It’s not that I’m unsatisfied with our sex life . . .you’re amazing in bed,” Matt began nervously.  “But I realized the other day, that while I have detailed memories of every aspect of your lips, and I can imagine every detail of your hand in mine, the rest of your body is just sort of a vague impression I have from hugging you.  Through clothes.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>We’ve been dating for months, and living together for a few weeks, and I still have this big question mark in my head about what you look like.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>I just, I want to explore your body.  Take my time, and get a better image of you in my mind.  It feels like I’m missing out on this huge part of you” (‘huge is definitely the right word,’ Foggy thought humorlessly)”. . .so would you mind if we take date night this week to take it slow?  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Let me map out your body by touch, and then let me make love to you, with plenty of handsiness and caressing?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i><b>No.</b> Foggy wanted to say no; it would ruin all of his plans.  Matt would know.  He would know how ugly Foggy was, and he would only be disappointed . . .But Matt was asking for what he wanted.  He was clearly nervous and uncomfortable, but he was doing it.  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Getting Matt to admit he wanted something was like pulling teeth.  How could Foggy not honor that?</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Okay,” he acquiesced nervously.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Thankfully, Matt either didn’t notice, or didn’t comment on, his nervousness.</i>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div>“What are you talking about, Matt?”<p>Right, because feigning ignorance was going to work.</p><p>“I started talking about our plans for later tonight, and you got upset,” Matt stated carefully.  “You don’t want to take it slow . . .no wait, we’ve taken it slow before.  There were those times we held hands, and made love.  Those times weren’t fast or rough . . .so you don’t object to going slow . . .that must mean . . .you don’t want me to touch you.”</p><p>Bingo.  Foggy tried to stop his heart from giving a series of heavy, guilty thumps, or racing like it was trying to escape the situation, but it was a lost cause.</p><p>Matt gasped in realization, and then continued.</p><p>“That’s why you hold my hands while we make love, and tie my hands to the headboard when we fuck, you don’t want me to touch you!</p><p>Foggy, why don’t you want me to touch you?”</p><p>“Holding hands is touching.  And I seem to remember you giving me quite a few hand jobs too, and that <i>definitely</i> involves touching,” Foggy deflected, his already accelerated heart rate nearly doubling.</p><p>“You know what I mean,” Matt said gently, and almost sadly.  “You don’t want me touching your body, at least not for long, and definitely not when you’re not wearing clothes; which is probably why you’ve been overheating yourself wearing that hoodie to bed every night.  The only thing I don’t understand is why.”</p><p>“Really?” Foggy scoffed loudly.  “You put all the other pieces together, but you can’t conceive of why I wouldn’t want your ab-tastic, peak-of-physical-fitness, insanely-toned self running your touch-enhanced hands all over my schlubby, veritable-checklist-of-flaws, body?!?”</p><p>“What?!” Matt cried, sounding stunned, and then, oh no, he started to cry.</p><p>Foggy felt like an ass.  He’d made Matt cry.</p><p>“I didn’t mean to yell,” he apologized softly.</p><p>Matt waved him off, shaking his head slightly.</p><p>“It’s not the yelling . . .it’s just, Foggy, I’m sorry.  I’m sorry that you felt like you needed to hide from me, and I’m sorry that I ever gave you any reason to doubt that I adore you, exactly as you are.”</p><p>Foggy shook his head in disbelief.</p><p>“You have nothing to be sorry for.”</p><p>Matt brows creased in determination, and he started his counterargument. </p><p>“I do!  I love you, and I promised myself I would protect you, but I failed.  </p><p>I let you feed this negative self-image, without ever realizing that it was happening.  I should have realized.  I should have intervened.  I should have —“</p><p>“Making me feel good about myself is not your responsibility.”</p><p>Matt started to object, but Foggy continued.</p><p>“And it’s really not as bad as all of that.  You don’t need to protect me from anything.  I’m not in danger.</p><p>I’m fine, really.</p><p>Plus, the last thing either of us need is you feeling guilty about this.  You have no reason to feel guilty.”</p><p>“Foggy . . .”</p><p>“If anyone should be sorry, Matty, it should be me.  I’m the one who keeps telling you to ask for what you want, and the one time you actually do, I’m getting all weird about it.”</p><p>A soft head shake appeared to be the only response Foggy was going to get, but then Matt spoke again.</p><p>“I won’t touch you, not if you don’t want me to, but I’m never going to stop telling you that I love you, or that I think you’re beautiful.  You’re the most amazing and beautiful man I’ve ever known.”</p><p>“I know that’s not true.  You’ve met the Avengers, and Luke, and Danny, and so many other stunning men.  All of them hundreds, if not thousands, of times more attractive than me.”</p><p>“None of them compare to you,” Matt asserted earnestly; a frown etched onto his lips, his brows furrowed and jaw set with conviction.  “You’re more stunning and attractive than any of them could be.”</p><p>“Society would disagree with you.  </p><p>They set hearts racing, make top ten lists of most beautiful people, and generally turn heads.  Which you do too, by the way.  You belong in that league; with the beautiful people.  I don’t.</p><p>I’m not beautiful.  I don’t turn heads.  In fact, I’m lucky if I just go unnoticed, as opposed to actively causing people disgust . . .and as soon as you get an in-depth picture of just how true that is, you’ll realize that I’m not really what you want.  At least not physically.”</p><p>“You’re wrong!  Foggy, you’re wrong,” Matt grit out desperately. “<i>You</i> are what I want, and there’s nothing disgusting about you.  </p><p>I’ll gladly take on anyone who says differently.”</p><p>Foggy shook his head in exasperation.</p><p>“You can’t just beat up anyone who says something mean to me.”</p><p>The set to Matt’s jaw said he was going to try.</p><p>“Daredevil is the good guy,”  Foggy tried again.  “He beats up <i>criminals</i>, Matt.  Thinking I’m ugly isn’t a crime.”</p><p>Matt just glared more intensely at nothing, making it clear that he thought it was.</p><p>“Then what?  You going to beat up all of the mirrors too?” Foggy scoffed.</p><p>“Foggy . . .”</p><p>His voice was so gentle, like he was talking to a spooked animal, and suddenly Foggy was the one crying.  He just couldn’t deal with this anymore.</p><p>“Stop trying to spare my feelings, Matt!  I know you care about me, but lying to me isn’t helping!”</p><p>“I’m not lying!”</p><p>Matt shook his head determinedly, and grabbed one of Foggy’s hands.  Then he pressed it firmly to his chest, so Foggy could feel his heart beating.  His heart rate was elevated, but still steady and strong.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Foggy whispered through his tears, his own heart quickly becoming unsteady.</p><p>“Foggy Nelson, I love you, and I think you’re beautiful.  I don’t care what anyone else says or thinks; to me, you’re the most handsome man in the world, and nothing is going to change that,” Matt declared steadily, before a touch of desperation entered his voice as he continued.  “You need to know that, Fog.  I’m telling the truth.”</p><p>He took the hand that wasn’t holding Foggy’s, and raised it slowly to gently wipe the tears from his partner’s face.  An action that just made Foggy cry harder.</p><p>“I don’t know how to fix this,” he whispered brokenly, as he tried to stroke Foggy’s cheek, causing the other man to pull back. “I want so badly to make everything okay for you, but I don’t know how.”</p><p>“It’s not your job to fix it,” Foggy croaked, his voice muddled by emotion.</p><p>Matt’s heart started to pound harder under Foggy’s hand, its beat not nearly as steady as it was before, and Foggy wondered if this was what a heart felt like when it was breaking.  Matt’s face was certainly a study in tragedy, and looking at it, he was suddenly furious at himself.  Why had he ever said anything?  He was an idiot of the highest caliber.</p><p>If anyone had been dealt a shitty hand in life, it was Matt Murdock.  Abandoned several times over, he lost the parent that stayed to murder, shortly after he experienced a traumatic accident that blinded him, then he was actually raised in an orphanage, (really, who had that happen to them anymore?), and played punching bag to an abusive mentor.  The world never seemed to cut him a break.</p><p>In comparison, what was so horrible about Foggy’s life?  He had two parents who loved him.  A whole clan of relatives who cared about him, and were willing to help out if he ever asked.  Money might have been tight at times when he was growing up, (and now), but he never wanted for the necessities.  So some people were mean to him, and he didn’t look like Apollo.  Boo hoo.  That was nothing.  Nothing compared to even one of Matt’s tragedy, and yet there was Matt Murdock, looking like his heart had been crushed because of <i>Foggy’s</i> insecurities, because <i>Foggy</i> had his feelings hurt.</p><p>He should have sucked it up.  He should have just let Matt touch him.  Matt didn’t need his bullshit.  It’s not like it would have hurt him to give Matt what he wanted.  Besides, if he was right and Matt wasn’t attracted to him, then Matt deserved to go find someone he actually desired.  Only Foggy’s selfishness would want to keep Matt in an uncomfortable relationship when he could have someone he both loved <i>and</i> desired.  </p><p>“Pathetic. You’re pathetic, Nelson,” he muttered to himself under his breath without thinking about it.</p><p>Matt made a wounded noise, and shook his head fervently.</p><p>“No negative self-talk, Foggy.</p><p>My boyfriend is amazing, and I won’t stand for anyone saying a bad word against him.  Not even him.”</p><p>His unseeing eyes shone with sincerity, and Foggy didn’t know how to respond.  He didn’t feel too bad about himself most of the time, but he knew his limitations, and right now he felt far from amazing.  He’d worried Matt, and ruined what Matt had planned to be a romantic night.</p><p>Foggy sighed and muttered, “I might be amazing, but I still ruined your plans.  You wanted tonight to be about sexy, slow romance, and I made everything awkward.</p><p>I’d understand if you were disappointed, or if you wanted me to leave.  I could give you some space if you wanted.”</p><p>Matt made a noise in protest, as he grabbed onto Foggy’s hands, seemingly so the other man wouldn’t flee.</p><p>“Foggy, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.  Any time spent with you, is time well spent.</p><p>You’re so kind,” he kissed the back of Foggy’s hand, “and smart,” then he kissed his forehead, “and funny,” a sloppy smack to his cheek, “and beautiful,” a quick peck to his lips, “and clever,” a gentle kiss to the end of his nose, “I want you so bad,” three deep passionate kisses in a row, “but even just holding your hand sets my heart aflutter,” he kissed the back of Foggy’s hand and then brought it back to his chest to show him, “You didn’t ruin anything.”</p><p>Matt finished his speech with a soft press of lips to the top of Foggy’s head.  Almost like a blessing.</p><p>Foggy blushed and started tearing up again.  </p><p>“But you didn’t get to touch me,” he reminded.</p><p>“And I’d still like to do that someday, but I’ll wait forever for you to be ready if I need to, because you’re worth the wait,” Matt said certainly.  “But . . I’d like to hold you tonight, if you’re willing, and I think I have a plan for how we can make that happen without making you uncomfortable.”</p><p>With that, Matt disappeared into the other room, and left Foggy to wonder what was going on.  Part of him was ready to tell Matt he could hold him no matter what, and just suck up any feelings of self-consciousness he had, because cuddling was still only a consolation prize in comparison to what Matt truly wanted.  He was working up his courage to say just that, when Matt came back wearing the thick wool mittens Foggy’s mom had given Matt a couple Christmases ago.</p><p>“Why are you wearing those?  I know you hate them, despite what you told Mom.”</p><p>“I don’t like them because they’re so thick that they dull my sense of touch, but that’s the point right now.  If I wear these, I won’t be able to pick up any detail about your body while I hold you.  What do you think?”</p><p>Foggy shook his head in exasperation.</p><p>“You’re ridiculous.”</p><p>“Does that mean you’re okay with this?”</p><p>“Aren’t they itchy?  Won’t they make your hands sweat?”</p><p>“The inside is lined with fleece, so they’re not itchy, and quite frankly, I don’t care if I my hands sweat, if it means I get to hold you close to me.” </p><p> Foggy sighed and shook his head again, smothering a slightly hysterical chuckle.</p><p>“Alright, alright.  Seems fair.”</p><p>Matt beamed brighter than the sun, and then reached out one mitten-clad hand to grab Foggy’s hand and drag him to their bed.  Then he waited while Foggy changed into his hoodie and sweatpants, before wrapping him tightly in his arms, and slotting behind him to make him the little spoon.</p><p>Two soft kisses were pressed to Foggy’s hair.</p><p>“I love you.  Good night, handsome.”</p><p>Foggy chuckled humorlessly.  Matt was nothing if not persistent.</p><p>“Good night, Matty.”</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div>‘Handsome’, ‘beautiful’, and ‘gorgeous’ became regular pet names for Foggy after that night.<p>“Good morning, beautiful.”</p><p>“I made you some coffee, gorgeous.”</p><p>“Hey handsome, what do you want for lunch?”</p><p>Karen found Matt’s new pet names hilarious at first, and jokingly joined in, calling Foggy “studmuffin” and “hottie,” (much to Matt’s displeasure, as evidenced by his scowl and sharp glare in her general direction).  Her nicknames were short-lived though, and Foggy had no small suspicion that this had everything to do with Matt, and possibly some whispered threats while Foggy was in his office.</p><p>The thing was, Matt seemed to take the terms of endearment very seriously.  He looked entirely sincere when he said them, and he made a point of using them multiple times a day, everyday.</p><p>His commitment to showering Foggy with love didn’t limit itself to just words either.  He kissed Foggy almost every time he passed by him, (unless there was a client present), and he wore the mittens to bed every night so he could hold Foggy close.  </p><p>Foggy felt completely overwhelmed.  He knew Matt cared about him, even loved him, but for so long he had thought that all of Matt’s feelings for him were platonic; a fact that had had Foggy worried from the beginning that Matt’s romantic affections would be hard to maintain.  However, as he watched Matt’s efforts, he couldn’t help but think that maybe Matt loved him just as fully and deeply as Foggy loved him.  </p><p>If Matt loved him like that, maybe Foggy was being silly.  Maybe it would be okay if Matt felt all of him.  Maybe it wouldn’t change anything, except maybe for the better, (though it seemed like almost too much to hope).</p><p>Foggy was getting closer and closer to offering to let Matt’s hands wander as they would like over his body, when he was reminded again of why that was a bad idea.  Several times, in one day.</p><p>It started with whispers in the coffee shop.  A small group in the corner, with apparently nothing better to do with their time than sip coffee and judge others, started speculating about his relationship status with Matt.  Two of them thought they were a couple, and the other two were convinced they were just friends.</p><p>Their voices were not nearly as quiet as they thought they were, (or maybe the just didn’t care if everyone heard them?), so Foggy heard every word.  Highlights included, “there’s no way; he’s an eight, and he’s a four, maybe even a three,” “levels of hotness don’t matter to a blind man,” and Foggy’s personal favorite, “do you think Hot Guy was always blind, or did he go blind from looking at his fugly boyfriend?”</p><p>Matt tensed next to him, and started clenching his fists.  He worked his jaw, and looked two seconds away from striding across the room and giving the group a piece of his mind; possibly before introducing them to his fists.  Which, of course, would be disastrous, so Foggy stroked his arm soothingly, gently pried open Matt’s fists, and casually mentioned wanting to head out to get to work on time.  His partner gave him a stiff nod, followed by an abrupt turn to the door.</p><p>Unable to take his anger out any other way, Matt turned it into a determined stride, and stormed out of the coffee shop, leaving Foggy to run behind him.  Unfortunately, in his rush to catch Matt, Foggy ran right into some man who was passing by.</p><p>“Watch where you’re going, fatass!” yelled the man indignantly, getting right in Foggy’s face.</p><p>“I’m s-sorry,” Foggy stuttered in apology.</p><p>“You better be, fatso,” the man grunted as he walked away.</p><p>Foggy turned to continue after Matt, but was surprised to find him already by his side.  He was also fuming.  Even with his glasses on, Foggy could tell that Matt was aiming a death glare in the general direction of the man with whom Foggy had collided.  He even took a step to follow him, but Foggy grabbed onto his arm, and arranged them into their typical guiding position.</p><p>“That man was out of line . . .” Matt grumbled as they walked away.</p><p>“He was just a little grumpy,” Foggy whispered back. “No one likes getting bumped into.”</p><p>Matt gaped for a second, and looked like he was about to say something, but then he closed his mouth and seemed to think better of it.</p><p>A dozen or so minutes later they were in the sanctuary of their office, and the morning was filled with preparation for upcoming cases.  They lost themselves in the research and paperwork, and everything went more or less back to normal.</p><p>The afternoon brought in several walk-in clients.  An older couple, who came in at Bess Mahoney’s recommendation, a pair of thirty-something brothers, and a women in her late twenties.  The older couple were completely charmed by Matt and Foggy, and quickly decided that they wanted them to represent them.  The brothers weren’t as sure, but left with their business card to think it over.  The last potential client wasn’t actually a client after all, not that they knew that at the time.</p><p>“Foggy Nelson?” asked the woman, her face turned toward Matt, as she gave him an appreciative once over.</p><p>Foggy rolled his eyes slightly.  Of course their gorgeous client was ogling Matt.  She was exactly the type that Matt seemed to attract.  Tall, slim, wearing the hell out of a sundress and some stilettos, and polished with subtle make up and gleaming, flowing blonde hair.  Women like that seemed to think they belonged with Matt, and after the morning they’d had, Foggy could see why that would make sense.  She and Matt matched in a way that he and Matt didn’t. </p><p>“That’d be me,” Foggy replied, shaking himself from his funk and holding out his hand for her to shake.  </p><p>“Really?” she asked in a surprised tone lined with disgust, as she gave him a far less appreciative once over that ended with her face crinkled like she’d smelled a rotten potato.</p><p>Foggy wasn’t sure what Matt was picking up from this lady, but he obviously was getting something even though he couldn’t see her facial expression, because his smile became sharper and his stance shifted to something slightly more adversarial.</p><p>“Is there something we can help you with?” Matt inquired with an edge of frost to his voice.  “Do you need a lawyer?”</p><p>“I thought I might, but Marci clearly lied to me,” she scoffed.</p><p>“Marci?” Foggy blurted out in surprise.  “She sent you here?”</p><p>“More like she gave me your number a few months back, but it’s not like it’s hard to find your office, and I thought I should drop in for a little preview before I gave you a call.  </p><p>Clearly, I made the right decision.  No need to waste my time,” she droned snobbishly, as she turned on her heel, and quickly beat a retreat once she had had her say.</p><p>She didn’t go far.  She apparently decided the space in front of their door was the perfect place to make a phone call.</p><p>“Marci, you lying bitch, I just met the ‘amazing’ Foggy Nelson, and clearly, you were playing some sort of cruel trick on me,” she complained loudly into her phone, her voice carrying right through the door and into the office.</p><p>“Sure, you don’t know what I’m talking about. </p><p>I mean, at first, when I saw the blind one, I thought, ‘he’s cute, this could maybe work, even with the whole blind thing,’ but then I find out that’s not even him, it’s the fruity-looking tub of lard he shares an office with!”</p><p>Matt’s face turned red, and he looked like he was going to break something.  Foggy understood, hearing the way she was talking about Matt.  Honestly, Foggy was a bit surprised that Marci might be friends with this woman.  Sure, Marci was a shark, and she could be insensitive, but she was a much better person than Ableist Barbie out there in the hallway.</p><p>“I find those claims doubtful.  How is he supposed to do that if every time I see his disgusting face I lose my lady-boner?  . . .and I’m sure whatever he had under that suit wouldn’t make anything any better . . .were you really into blindfolds or something when you dated him?”</p><p>A growl escaped from Matt’s throat, and his face turned positively murderous.  Then, in a far from comforting turn of events, his face twisted into a vicious smile and he barked a single sharp laugh.</p><p>“I don’t see how it’s my loss, but maybe not seeing is the whole point.  It certainly explains the two of them.  Conveniently located, no blindfold required,” she chirped cuttingly into the phone as she finally started to walk away.</p><p>Foggy stared at the door for several moments after she left, still stupefied by how horrible she had been. </p><p>“Foggy . . .” Matt started uncertainly, his face doing some sort of acrobatics between angry, annoyed and concerned.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Matt.  I’ll talk to Marci about not sending her friends around.  I mean, I’m in a relationship, so she shouldn’t be trying to set me up . . .though it did sound like she maybe tried a while back, and that lady apparently decided she still had every right to follow up on that months later.  Either way . . .I will say, I’m honestly shocked that Marci would put up with someone like her.  That woman was really out of line to talk about you like that,” Foggy apologized.</p><p>“About me?!” Matt asked incredulously.</p><p>“She was a jerk about you being blind,” Foggy stated matter-of-factly, not wanting to be insensitive, but also a little surprised by Matt’s response.</p><p>Matt waved him off.</p><p>“The world is full of ableist assholes.”</p><p>“That doesn’t make it okay!”</p><p>“I have better things to worry about than people who can’t get past ‘the whole blind thing’.”</p><p>“But you looked like you wanted to murder her . . .if it wasn’t that she was an ableist nightmare, then what . . . .” </p><p>Ohh . . .that.  Foggy would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt a little to hear her opinion of him, but he also had bigger things to do than worry about what some random woman thought of him.  (Still, somewhere in the back of his mind ‘fugly’, ‘fatass’, ‘fatso,’ ‘four, maybe three’, ‘disgusting face’ and ‘fruity, tub of lard’ were dancing around, killing any thoughts Foggy might have had of Matt appreciating his body.  There was consensus.  He was ugly.  Matt would probably think so too.)</p><p>“The way she talked about you, Foggy.  I just—“</p><p>“Just what?” Foggy asked, trying to keep his tone neutral, (he hoped Matt didn’t hear the sliver of impatience he was feeling; he didn’t need Matt’s pity, if Matt could shrug off the way she talked about him then Foggy could do the same).</p><p>“I . . . I just . . . . I want-“ Matt struggled, seemingly unable to settle on what he wanted to say.</p><p>“What do you want, Matty?” Foggy asked resignedly; apparently they were going to have this conversation.</p><p>“You’re right, I did want to murder her.  Well, maybe not murder her, but definitely hurt her.  Thankfully, Marci didn’t spare any words with her . . .but it doesn’t really feel like enough.  </p><p>I just—  I wish— Foggy, please believe me when I say I love you, I want you, and I’m attracted to you.  That hasn’t changed, and it isn’t going to.”</p><p>“Matt—“</p><p>“I don’t need you to respond, I know there are lots of reasons you might not believe me, and I don’t expect them to disappear overnight.  I just wanted to put that out there.”</p><p>“I love you too, Matt, and you don’t need to worry.  I have better things to do than worry about people who object to my appearance.”</p><p> “You’re right.  I’ll worry about them, and maybe hit them a little.”</p><p>“Matthew!” Foggy scolded.</p><p>“They hurt you!  It’s only fair!  They hurt you, I hurt them,” Matt justified.  “I’m pretty sure that as your boyfriend, I have that right.”</p><p>“As a lawyer, I’m positive you don’t; and as your partner in a legal practice, I’m a little concerned that you don’t know that . . .”</p><p>The other lawyer scoffed and shook his head dismissively.</p><p>“Besides, it’s like I said, I have better things to do, and I don’t really care what they think.  They just ran their mouths, and words can’t hurt me,” Foggy tried to soothe; honestly unsure if he was trying to reassure Matt or himself at this point.</p><p>What he said must have registered as a lie to Matt though, because his face screwed up and he looked sad and determined.  He opened his mouth to speak, but seemingly thought better of it, and just shook his head in resignation.</p><p>Foggy knew this was far from over, but he was grateful for the temporary reprieve, so he didn’t comment.  He was sure Matt would bring it up later, but he had no desire to bring up the subject any sooner than he had to.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div>Things currently on Foggy’s shit list included: abandoned warehouses, zip ties, metal folding chairs, and beefy, hired goons.  Mainly because said beefy, hired goons hit him over the head with something and brought him to said abandoned warehouse, where they zip tied him to a metal folding chair.  It really wasn’t Foggy’s best day.<p>It wasn’t getting any better either.  The hired muscle wanted him to drop several cases that involved business owners in the area; apparently because some gang or mafia was trying to get protection money out of them.  When they refused to pay, they went after them with trumped up health code violations, or lease violations, or other charges that Foggy was set to defend them against.  That seemed to have upset someone in the organization enough to send these guys after him.</p><p>Even so, outnumbered, restrained, and probably in for a world of hurt, Foggy still refused their demands.  Rather, he told them quite colorfully what he thought about them, because he’d never met a hornet’s nest he didn’t end up kicking.  It wasn’t smart, but it was what he did.</p><p>Fists and belts got added onto Foggy’s list after they started impacting his bare torso and arms; his shirt discarded to who-knows-where.  Knives were about to join them, when Daredevil back flipped in and kicked the ever-loving shit out of Foggy’s captors.</p><p>“Foggy,” Matt whispered frantically as he knelt down in front of Foggy and freed him from the zip ties, (and for all that he was still in the costume, he wasn’t Daredevil anymore).</p><p>“Foggy, are you okay?”</p><p>Words were harder to form than he had expected, and he felt a little numb, so he stayed silent.</p><p>“Foggy, I can smell blood.  Where are you hurt?” Matt asked urgently as he threaded his fingers through Foggy’s hair and cupped the back of his head.</p><p>For several moments the only thought in Foggy’s head was that Matt’s bare hands were touching him, but he hadn’t seen him take off his gloves.  When had he taken them off?</p><p>“Foggy!  Where are you hurt?!”</p><p>The grip on his hair tightened, and Matt shook him a little.  His voice sounded panicked, but Foggy couldn’t quite place why.</p><p>“Foggy, I’m sorry, I know I said I wouldn’t touch you without your permission, but you’re not answering me, and I’m scared.  I need to make sure you’re okay, and I can’t see you to know where you’re bleeding.  I’m sorry.”</p><p>Matt sounded sorry too.  Why was he sorry?</p><p>Oh.  Matt’s hands were running methodically over Foggy’s head, down his neck, over his shoulders and then across his chest.  They probed down Foggy’s arms and across his back, over his waist and the length of each leg in turn.  As his hands searched, small gasps and pained exhales escaped Matt, but it all felt distant from Foggy; like it was happening to someone else.</p><p>“I don’t think there’s anything life-threatening, but I’d feel a lot better if you said something.  Foggy, please.”</p><p>The pleading caught Foggy’s attention.  It honed his disjointed thoughts onto Matt, who he now realized had taken off the helmet, and was crying.  Why was Matt crying?</p><p>“Don’t cry,” Foggy managed, slowly and deliberately.</p><p>“Foggy!”</p><p>He was wrapped in a tight, desperate hug.  One that hurt more than it should; cuts and bruises making their presence known across Foggy’s sides and stomach.  He drew in a sharp breath, and Matt immediately loosened his hold.</p><p>“Sorry.”</p><p>“‘S okay.”</p><p>“No, I don’t want to hurt you,” Matt shook his head, then cocked it to the side and stood, taking his mask and gloves with him.  “The police are almost here.”</p><p>Back in full Daredevil gear, Matt faded from sight, but Foggy was fairly sure he was lurking in the shadows nearby; a nearly undetectable presence that followed them all the way to the hospital. (Maybe “keeping watch” would be a better way to put it, but Matt was as creepy as he was heartfelt in his protection, so “lurking” seemed accurate to Foggy).</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~</p>
</div>Matt hovered, fussed and barely let Foggy off the couch for several days after the whole goons-and-abandoned-warehouse situation.  Foggy had repeated that he was fine countless times, but each time, Matt shook his head softly and ignored him.  The whole thing had clearly shaken him up much more than it had Foggy, (and Foggy wasn’t beyond admitting he’d had a few nightmares).<p>In addition to his hypervigilance, Matt stopped holding Foggy in bed.  At first, Foggy thought it was because the other man was afraid he would bump into any of the number of bruises on Foggy’s body and hurt him.  Matt was guilt-ridden under normal circumstances, so he was unlikely to risk causing Foggy more pain, (even if the initial pain wasn’t his fault, despite what he thought).  However, after Matt seemed to hold back from touching Foggy even after the handful of nightmares that he had, Foggy became suspicious.  Maybe it was something else.</p><p>“Matt, why are you being weird about touching me?” Foggy asked, as he watched Matt clench his hands into fists by his side in the aftermath of Foggy’s latest nightmare.</p><p>“I’m not being weird.  You didn’t ask me to touch you, so I’m not,” Matt replied in a tone he tried to make matter-of-fact.  (It didn’t work, Foggy could hear what he wasn’t saying.)</p><p>“You don’t usually ask before you h- . . . .Is this about what happened in the warehouse?  I knew you’d get weird once you’d touched me!”</p><p>“No!  Foggy!  I . . .It’s not . . .Okay, it is about touching you in the warehouse, but not in the way that you think!”</p><p>“Oh?”</p><p>“I didn’t have your permission.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I promised you I wouldn’t touch you until you were ready.  Until you gave me your permission.  Then I did it anyway!  I broke my promise . . .and I forced something on you that you didn’t want.  </p><p>I had a good reason for it, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t violate your trust . . .so I’ve been letting you take the lead, so that you know I’m not taking advantage.  You know I wouldn’t do that, right Foggy?”</p><p>“Of course you wouldn’t do that!  But is that really all there is to it?  I mean you didn’t exactly recoil or anything, but you didn’t seem overly excited about what you felt.”</p><p>“I thought you might be dying!  Checking to make sure the man I love isn’t bleeding out isn’t exactly sexy!  Did you expect me to be aroused by that?!”</p><p>“Maybe not, but you haven’t been holding me in bed since then because . . .?”</p><p>“You’re covered in bruises!  I don’t want to hurt you!  And, did you not catch what I said about consent?!  </p><p>I know I talked you into the mitten situation.  In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have pushed, and after touching you without your permission . . .I just didn’t want to do anything that might make you believe that I would force you into something.”</p><p>Foggy rolled his eyes and narrated the gestured to Matt.</p><p>“I know you wouldn’t force me into anything.  You’re a good man!</p><p>In fact, you’re such a good man, you would give excuses that make it sound like everything’s your fault, and you’re not worthy to touch me because you didn’t honor my right to consent, when in reality you don’t <i>want</i> to touch me because you find me unattractive.”</p><p>“That’s not true!”</p><p>“Prove it!”</p><p>“How?!”</p><p>“I’ll strip to my boxers, you’ll run your feelers all over me, and then we’ll see your honest reaction to touching me when I’m not possibly dying!”</p><p>“Is this really what you want?  You’re willing to let me touch you?” Matt asked his voice suddenly soft and uncertain, even though they had been screaming at each other just moments earlier.</p><p>“I don’t see how else we’re going to settle this, and I refuse to continue to tiptoe around whatever is happening between us!” Foggy declared harshly.</p><p>“Okay.  If that’s what you want.”</p><p>Matt nodded slowly, but he looked lost and almost scared.  That was enough that Foggy almost backed down.  Almost.  Despite any wounded duck faces that Matt was making at him, he was still a little angry, so he stripped off his clothes with more force than was strictly necessary, and whipped them into the chair in the corner of the bedroom.</p><p>“Alright Murdock, let’s get this over with,” he challenged as he stood with his arms and legs spread apart to present himself to the other man.</p><p>Matt hesitated for a moment, but then his hands gently landed on Foggy’s shoulders and began their slow quest over Foggy’s skin.  He was thorough, brushing over each patch of skin with the same determined precision he had when he was reading a brief for a case; only his finger moved much slower and more gently as he mapped out every square inch of Foggy. </p><p>By the time Matt was making his final strokes to Foggy’s chest, his mouth hung open slightly to accommodate his accelerated breathing.  Those quick breaths were loud pants by the time Matt had finished with Foggy’s arms.  The beginnings of an erection became clear when Matt hit Foggy’s waist, and by the time he’d finished his exploration of the other man, his pants were tented almost obscenely.</p><p>“Do you believe me now?” Matt whispered, head hung in slight embarrassment as he gestured at his crotch.</p><p>“You really are attracted to me,”  Foggy breathed in disbelief.  </p><p>“Why is that so hard to believe?!”</p><p>“All the hot girls, man.  In college you were always going ga-ga over the hot girls, and I look nothing like them.  I turn you on like they did?”</p><p>Matt shook his head, “No, not at all.  I’m much more attracted to you than I ever was to any of the ‘hot girls’.</p><p>They didn’t repulse me, and we had fun for a night or two.  But you, Foggy?  Everything is so much better, and much more intense.  When I brush against your arm, or give you even the smallest peck of a kiss, I feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest.  Even fairly innocent touches can leave me aching for you.  And when we have sex?  You overwhelm me in all the best ways.  You fill my senses so completely that there’s only me and you until I emerge from the afterglow.  It’s never been like that with anyone else.”</p><p>“What about Elektra?” Foggy asked, unable to stop himself from pushing.  (Honestly, never a hornet’s nest he left unkicked.)</p><p>“I cared about Elektra, and there were times the world would fade away when I was with her, but it wasn’t the same thing.  We used to fight and fuck, and overwhelm each other with as much sensation as possible; pain or pleasure made no difference.  She’d kick me in the face, and break my nose.  Then she’d push me to the floor and ride me so hard neither of us could breath.”</p><p>Foggy let out a small squeak.  He really never needed that level of detail about Matt and Elektra’s sex life, and now he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to delete that image from his mind.</p><p>“My point is,” Matt continued. “At the time, I thought that was what passion was.  The sweat and heat between our bodies blazed, and the freedom of never having to hold back; of just taking what we wanted, felt as unrestrained as a wildfire . . .but, in the end, I got burned.”</p><p>“Matt . . “</p><p>“Then there was you, and you taught me that passion can be gentle, but still just as powerful.  It’s still a fire, but it’s one that warms you and protects you in its glow, not one that consumes you.”</p><p>Tears slid down Foggy’s cheeks, and Matt brushed them away.</p><p>“Gentle passion, huh?  Like mapping out my body by hand, caressing all of my most sensitive spots, and slowly driving us both over the edge?”</p><p>“You forgot about the part where I lavish you with tender kisses the whole time . . . but yes, that was the idea,” Matt admitted. </p><p>Foggy let out a shaky breath.</p><p>“I think I get it now . . .and I’m sorry that I ruined it for you.”</p><p>“You didn’t ruin anything.  You weren’t ready.  If we would have done it then, you would have felt tense and self-conscious, and that’s not what I wanted.  It would have just been something you endured, and that wouldn’t have sent the right message.”</p><p>“And what message is that?”</p><p>“Foggy Nelson, I know you intimately and I cherish you.  All of you; your clever mind, your big heart, your gentle spirit, and your beautiful body.”</p><p>“I might be inclined to believe you, but, I think there are a few oversights we need to address,” Foggy started.</p><p>He cleared his throat coyly and then lifted a single finger.</p><p>“First, there’s still some of me you haven’t touched without a layer of cloth between your hands and my skin.”</p><p>He dropped his boxers, and then raised a second finger.</p><p>“Second, I think you might need to contrast what my body feels like when I’m standing with what it feels like when I’m lying down.”</p><p>Foggy climbed into the bed, and rolled onto his side and into a waiting pose.</p><p>“And third, I think you might get more information if you used not only your hands, but your tongue as well.”</p><p>Matt smirked and chuckled darkly.</p><p>“Best of all?  I think your further research might help you with your current situation,” Foggy purred as he gestured at Matt’s erection, which had only flagged slightly during their conversation.</p><p>“You know, I think you might be right,” Matt agreed all too eagerly.</p><p>“Well, I best let you get on with your studies,” Foggy declared as he presented himself, (much more flirtatiously this time), to his partner.</p><p>A delighted and overwhelmed sound escaped from Matt as he reached for what he desired. (It was still a bit surreal to Foggy that he was what Matt desired).  Then everything faded, not into feverish lust or frenzied rutting, but into caresses so tender they burned like a brand.  Foggy’s body was thoroughly explored and even though he felt more exposed than he ever had, he didn’t feel self-conscious, he just felt loved.  The awe on Matt’s face made Foggy wonder if he might just be something precious after all.</p><p>As kisses covered every inch of him, Foggy could only let out overwhelmed noises while Matt teased and caressed him.  Matt however, was not nearly so lost for words.</p><p>“Smoking hot, Foggy.  You’re so beautiful,” he whispered between kisses to Foggy’s side.</p><p>The praise continued, with “gorgeous,” “so good,” and “such a kind heart” all murmured into his skin, until they both nearly shook apart with the intensity of their orgasms.  Then Matt fell gently on top of Foggy, and snuggled right into his naked chest.</p><p>“Matt, I adore you,” Foggy whispered, as he regained his breath.</p><p>He gently skated his hands down Matt’s back and then kissed him with every ounce of love he held for the other man.</p><p>“The feeling is mutual,” Matt whispered as they broke the kiss.  “My heart belongs to you.”</p><p>“My heart’s belonged to you since the beginning, but as of today, my body belongs to you too.”</p><p>Matt’s grin was soft and satisfied at the hushed declaration.  He looked smug as he lazily peppered Foggy’s chest with kisses and reached under him to squeeze his ass.  (Which wouldn’t do at all, it was getting late, and there was no time for round two.)</p><p>“Yes, yes, my body is a wonderland,” Foggy deadpanned.  </p><p>Matt snorted in a way that was so unattractive it somehow ended up being adorable, (and Foggy just needed to kiss the tip of his nose).</p><p>“That was awful!”</p><p>“You love me anyway.”</p><p>Three quick smooches were pressed against Foggy’s lips.</p><p>“I do.”</p><p>“Now, as I was going to say, we have work tomorrow, so as hot as you are for my body, you’ll need to content yourself with cuddling until a later date.”</p><p>Matt hummed and rearranged them so that Foggy was held firmly in his arms.</p><p>“That’s no consolation prize,” he commented as he nuzzled Foggy’s shoulder.</p><p>“Go to sleep, you ridiculous man!”</p><p>“Mmm . . . Love you.”</p><p>“I love you too,” Foggy yawned as he finally started to drift to sleep.</p>
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